Extending Christ's Kingdom in the Anglican Way.
About Us
What do we believe?
At Holy Trinity, we hold to the classic beliefs of Christianity as expressed through the Bible, the early church, and historical Anglican documents. We’ve briefly outlined what some of these beliefs are below and provided links for further information. If you have any questions about any of these topics, feel free to speak to us.
What do we believe about God? We believe there is one true God. God has existed eternally as three distinct persons: Father, Son, and Spirit. They are three, and yet one – the Trinity.
What do we believe about Jesus? We believe that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was born of the Virgin Mary, lived and taught in first century Palestine, and was crucified, died, and was buried. On the third day, he bodily rose from the grave and appeared to his disciples. After 40 days he ascended into heaven where he is seated at the right hand of the Father. We believe that he will come again.
What do we believe about the Bible? We believe that the books of the Old and New Testaments are the inspired Word of God, which contain all things necessary for salvation. The Bible is the final authority and unchangeable standard for Christian life and faith.
What do we believe about people? We believe that mankind was created in the image of God as male and female. The first man and woman (Adam and Eve) sinned, and as a result, they would experience physical death and spiritual death – which is separation from God. Since each human being is their descendant, we are all born with a sinful nature. This means that our natural inclination is to choose the wrong things, and this can be seen in our thoughts, words, and actions. Sin, therefore, is a problem of our choices but also a problem of our very being. This sin has severed our relationship with God, and unless it is dealt with, will result in eternal death and separation from him.
What do we believe about salvation? We believe that we are saved, not by our own actions, efforts, or merits, but by the grace of God through faith in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What do we believe about the Sacraments? We believe the sacraments to be outward and visible signs of God’s inward and gracious working in us. We practice the sacraments which were instituted by Jesus himself; those of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Because Jesus ordained them, we use his words and the elements which he used to do them. We believe that God works through the sacraments in an effectual and mysterious way.
At Holy Trinity, we also practice those sacraments which have been handed down through the history of the church; marriage, confirmation, anointing with oil, confession, and ordination.
What do we believe about the Church? We believe in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church. These are the four classic ‘marks’ of the church. We believe that the church is one because it has only one Lord, Jesus Christ. We believe that it is holy because it is primarily Jesus’ body, made holy by the presence of the Holy Spirit, not by our own merits.
We believe that it is catholic (universal) because it proclaims the whole Faith to all people until the end of time. We believe that it is apostolic because the church carries on the teaching and ministry of the apostles, whom Jesus first sent out into the world as his representatives.
Resources for What we Believe:
The Apostle’s Creed (a short statement of faith often used in baptisms)
The Nicene Creed (a longer statement of faith that is the foundation for all Christian churches)
The Athanasian Creed (an intricate explanation of the doctrine of the Trinity)
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion (one of the founding documents of Anglicanism which spells out our beliefs in the context of the debates during the Reformation)
What is an Anglican?
An Anglican is part of a large family of Christians that have descended from the church in England. As part of that worldwide Anglican family, we have the following characteristics in our churches:
We are HISTORICAL because we remain connected to the great tradition of the Christian church going back to the first century.
We are BIBLICAL because we look to the Bible as the final authority for what we believe and how we behave.
We are LITURGICAL because we worship according to beautiful set forms given to us in The Book of Common Prayer.
We are SACRAMENTAL because we believe that holy baptism is the entry into the church and holy communion is the regular Sunday service.
We are GLOBAL because we have 85 million sisters and brothers in Anglican churches throughout the whole world.
We are MISSIONAL because we long for all to hear about the love of God made known in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
What is our history?
Holy Trinity Anglican church was founded in May 1999 by four families, as an independent congregation, and shortly thereafter was admitted to the Reformed Episcopal Church. The Rev Dr. Mark Quay was called as the first priest and we began to conduct services in the homes of our families. After a period of time, we finally found a location for worship services at Laclede Groves Care Center.
In 2000 Dr. Quay accepted a faculty position at Cranmer Theological House and Fr. John Leal was called as priest. While Fr. Leal was with us the congregation was catechized and began to learn what it meant to be an "Anglican" parish.
In the summer of 2003, Rev. John Leal accepted a position elsewhere, and the Rev. Dr. Kurt Henle was called from his parish in Arkansas. Dr. Henle is a master organist, and under his direction, the music program was recreated and upgraded.
In 2003 Holy Trinity moved to its current location on S. Elm Ave. in Webster Groves MO and began to grow in membership. Several years ago Dr. Henle accepted a church plant position in northern Michigan and in 2009 the Ven. Dr. Douglas Mills was called as our new priest from his position as headmaster of a Christian school and priest of Christ Covenant Anglican Church in East Tennessee. With Dr. Mills, we have enjoyed growing relationships with churches, priests, and bishops from the Reformed Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church in North America, as well as some from the African continent. Dr. Mills retired in November 2019.
The Reverend Caleb Hummel accepted our call as our new priest and was installed as our Rector on December 1, 2019, by the Most Reverend Ray Sutton, Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church. In November 2020, Father Hummel regretfully resigned due to unforeseen family issues.
In December 2020, the Reverend Paul Howden accepted our call as our new priest. He was installed as our rector by The Rt. Rev. Walter Banek, Suffragan Bishop of the Diocese of Mid America on May 2, 2021.